‘Health minister’s consent needed in cultivating cannabis plants for medicine’
KUANTAN: Cannabis plants can be cultivated for medicinal purposes and research with the health minister’s consent.
National Anti-Drugs Agency (Nada) director-general Datuk Seri Zulkifli Abdullah said there was a provision in the law that allowed for the planting of cannabis with conditions or permission.
“Recently, I read in the press about the success of Malaysians overseas in producing cannabidiol (CBD) oil .
“I wonder if this can be replicated here.
“If we look at the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, cannabis plants can be cultivated for medicinal purposes, but it is important to get the approval of the health minister first.”
He was speaking after attending the Pahang Nada appreciation ceremony with strategic partners here on Saturday.
The success story of three Malaysians, who have been living in the United Kingdom for 15 years, in producing CBD oil received local media attention in June last year.
Malaysian couple Abdul Halim Pauzi and Nurul Ain Sahbudin, and their friend, Mohd Roslan Abdullah, have not only studied the effectiveness of CBD oil in medicine, but also acquired a licence to market the product to 50 countries.
Zulkifli said if cannabis plants could provide medicinal value, something needed to be done to ensure that they were properly cultivated and in accordance with the law.
“They must be cultivated properly because they are drugs. Therefore, we need to have control of this issue.
“They are cultivated and used in other countries.
“Maybe one day, when they can be produced in Malaysia, we can be an exporter, but a legal one.
“That’s why the Health Ministry has to verify whether cannabis is a drug because it has the authority to do so.”
He said parents or caretakers of children with drug-related problems might have to attend compulsory counselling under a new law that would be drafted to address early stage drug problems.
“Through the counselling, we can identify the problems and try to address them because we believe that prevention begins at home.
“We do not want parents to ignore problems faced by their children.”